In recent years, various technologies are being proposed as technologies related to a storage apparatus. For example, PTL 1 discloses the Thin Provisioning technology of applying a virtual logical volume (this is hereinafter referred to as the “virtual logical volume”) to a host computer, and dynamically assigning a physical storage area from a storage apparatus to that virtual logical volume according to the writing status of data from the host computer into the virtual logical volume.
Moreover, PTL 2 discloses technology where a storage apparatus that received an I/O request determines whether that I/O request is a request for writing or reading data into or from a storage area in the own storage apparatus, and, if the I/O request is a request for writing or reading data into or from a storage area in another storage apparatus, transfers that I/O request to the other storage apparatus.
In addition, PTL 3 discloses technology of enabling the integration of pools in different storage apparatuses by incorporating a storage area of a pool existing in another storage apparatus into a storage area that is being used by a pool created in a storage apparatus.
Meanwhile, PTL 4 discloses technology of diagnosing whether an access path from a host computer to a storage apparatus is optimal. According to this technology, it is possible to display the optimal access path from the host computer to the storage apparatus, or switch the path from the host computer to the storage apparatus to be the optimal access path.